Signature-handling mechanism.



E. R. KAST.

SIGNATURE HANDLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.10.I9I3.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

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E. R. KAST. SIGNATURE HANDLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10.1913- mm Wm 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

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E. R. KAST. SIGNATURE HANDLING MECHANISM, APPLICATION man MAR. 10. 19:3.

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APPLICATION FILED MAR. I0. I913- Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

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UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE,

EDWARD B. EAST, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO KAST IN SETTING &GATHERING-MACHINE COMPANY, 0]? NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OFDELAWARE.

SIGNATURE-HANDLING MECHANISM.

Application filed March 10, 1913. Serial No. 753,363.

I '0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD R. KAs'r, ofBaltimore, Maryland, [have invented a new and useful Improvement inSignature- Handling Mechanism, which invention is fully set forth in thefollowing specification.

The present invention relates to mecha nism for handling signatures, andmore particularly is an improvement in means for feeding groups ofsignatures along asupport on which they are deposited by suitablemechanism.

In the insetting machine described and claimed in my application SerialNo.

508,160, and in insetting machines as heretofore built by me, signatureshave been depos ited'on a support. or saddle from a series ofsignature-opening mechanisms, an endless conveyer or chain moving "thegroups of signatures along said saddle under the signature-openingmeans, so that the signatures deposited by the first signature-openingmechanism will be conveyed along said saddle and inset within thesignatures deposited by the next signature-opening mechanism, the twoinset signatures being moved along said saddle and inset within thesignatures deposited by the third signatureopening mechanismand so onuntil the book or-magazine is completed. This end-- less conveyer hasbeen heretofore provided with signature-engaging means in the form ofpins arranged equidistantly on said conveyer, one engaging the edge of"the first signature deposited by the first signatureopening mechanismand conveying said signature, and the others that are deposlted thereon,through the insetting machine.

While this construction is generally eflicient in assembling signatures,I have experienced that" at times signatures, instead of being depositedby the signature-opening means on the saddle in front of the pinscarriedby said conveyer or chain, will be deposited on top of the pinsthat are rapidly moving along the saddle, with the result that asignature or signatures are knocked off the saddle onto the floor, anddefective books are produced, or one or more signatures so depositedbecome entangled in the mechanism, necessitating the stopping of themachine, with consequent loss of time 4 and increase of labor.

The object of the present invention is to obviate these disadvantagesthat inhere in the employment of a continuously-moving endless conveyerprovided with signatureengaging means, and this object is accom plishedby a construction inwhich the pins Patented Nov. 28. 1916. I

signatures being knocked offof the saddle] or entangled with themechanism are mini Y mized.

One embodiment of the inventive idea consists in mounting the meansthatengage the signatures carried by the support on a 1 continuous conveyeror chain to which discontlnuous movement is applied, and while thisexpression of the inventive idea finds a peculiar application inconnection with means-for mechanically opening and depositing signatureson a support or saddle,

it may also be used to advantage where the assembled books or signaturesare deposited by hand on the support or saddle, itbeing deslrable, aswell in this connection as where slgnatures are mechanically opened anddeposited, thatthe signatureengaging means.

should be in such a position as' to minimize the chances of having thesignatures deposited on top, rather than in front, of said means.

The invention further consists-in certain details of construction, andcombination and arrangement of parts to be more 'fully described andthen pointed out in the claims.

The inventive idea is capable of being emtions, one of which isshowninthe drawings forming a part of this specification.

1 bodied in a variety of mechanical construc- The invention will bebetter understood by reference to wherein Figures l'and 1 constitute aside elevation of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a planview showing the power connection and the means for discontinutheaccompanying drawings, 5 v

ously driving the conveyer that moves the v signatures along the supportor sadlde to the stitching mechanism;- Fig. 3 is a detailed perspectiveofthe mechanism for withdrawing the signatures from the hoppers; Fig. 4is a perspective of the delivery end of the saddle, with some of theparts removed for the sake of clearness, and show-- ing thecontinuous-conveyersfor moving the books or pamphlets through thestitching mechanism and to the delivery; Fig. 5 is an end elevationlooking toward the right of Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a detailed perspectiveillustrating mechanism for opening the signatures; and Fig. 7 is adetailed perspective of the means for discontinuously driving theconveyer that carries the signatures along the support or saddle to thestitching mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicate likeparts, 10 is a pulley which is driven in any suitable manner by a belt11, said pulley being mounted on a shaft 12, to which is keyed a beveledgear 13. This gear 13 meshes with a beveled gear 14 mounted on shaft 15,from which latter shaft power is transmitted to the delivery end of. themachine. Beveled gear 13 also meshes with a beveled gear 16 mounted on ashaft 17 from which power is transmitted to the means fordiscontinuously driving the conveyer that moves the groups of signaturesalong the support or saddle to the stitching mechanism, as will behereinafter more fully described.

Mounted on shaft 12 is a second beveled gear 18, which meshes with abeveled gear,

19 (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2) keyed to thelower end of verticalshaft 20. f

As,-he're shown, the signatures are mechanically deposited on a supportor saddle 21, though it is to be understood that the signatures may bemanually placed on said support or saddle. If means are employed foreffecting this result, I preferably use one or more of the devicesillustrated, described and claimed in my applications Serial Nos.508,160, 712,315, 718,062, 718,063 and 745,973. As herein illustrated,the means for depositing the signatures on the support of saddle arethose described and claimed in my application Serial No. 508,169Inasmuch as these specific means formno part of the present invention,onlybrief reference will be made thereto. Hoppers 22, in which thesignatures are stacked, are mounted on the frame of the machine, andsuitable suction means (not shown) are provided for drawing downwardlythe lowermost signature ina position to be gripped by the mechanism forwithdrawing the same (see Fig. 3). The

signature-withdrawing mechanism associated with each hopper comprises aseries 7 of sector members 23 mounted on shaft 24, which is driven fromvertical shaft 20 through beveled gears 25 and 26 (Fig. 1

Carried by these sectors 23 is a shaft 27, on which are keyed fingers'28, one finger being associated with each sector. On the end of shaft27 is mounted a tumbler 29,

which is provided with a slot 30, which en-.

gages a pin 31 mounted on the frame of the machine. The engagement ofslot 30 with also mounted on-the frame of the machine.

From the withdrawing mechanism just described, the signatures aredeposited onto belts 33 (Figs. l and 6),by which they are delivered,open edges foremost, to suitable signature-opening mechanism. As hereshown, this mechanism consists of a plurality of members 3 and 35, theformer being mounted on a hollow shaft 36, and the latter on a hollowshaft 37. These members are rotated in opposite directions by means ofintermeshi-ng gears 38 and 39, and are driven from vertical shaft 20through beveled gear 40, which meshes with a similar beveled gear (notshown) ona stub shaft 41 (F ig.- 6) a second beveled gear 42 on saidstub shaftmeshing with a beveled gear 43, which is mounted on hollowshaft 37. The rotary members 34 and 35. are provided with suction mouths44, and intermediate the members 35 on hollow shaft 37 are pulleys .45,around which passth'eybelts 33. The

suction months 44 are in communication are in turn connected'to asuitablesource of suction (not shown). As the signatures pass, openedges foremost, between the rotary suction members 34 and 35,.oneleaf ofthe signature is engaged by the suction mouths on rotary member 34, andthe other leaf is engaged by the suction mouths on therotary member 35.- Inasmuch as'these members rotate in opposite directions, thesignatures will be opened, as said members rotate, and any sfiitablemeans are employed for separating said open signatures from the rotarymembersr34 and 35 hen said signaglires are deposited on th gupport orsade 21. r r

In my applications above referred to, and in insetting machines asheretofore constructed by me, I have employed, in association with thesupport or'saddle 21, a continuously driven conveyer provided withsignature-engaging means in the form of pins, for moving the si aturesdeposited on the support or saddfia to the stitching mechanism. I have,however, experienced ated, with the result that the signature-engagingmeans or pins are not moving along the saddle at the time thesignatures. are being deposited thereon. In the particular embodiment ofthe inventive idea herein illustrated and described,'thesignature-engaging means are in the form of pins carried'by a continuousconveyer, herein shown.

' as a, chain, and appropriate means are pro-v vided for intermittentlymoving said chain so that the signatures will be conveyedto thestitching mechanism, each forward movement ofthe chain being. of suchextent that the pins, during the periods of rest, will not be under themeans for depositing the signatures on the support or saddle.

wheels 48 and 49 mounted on the frame ofthe machine, and said chain isdiscontinu- 3 cured to one arm 58 of a two-armed'lever 59,

The conveyer or chain is indicated by the reference numeral 46, and 47indicates-the slgnature-engaging means or pins carried thereby. Said'chain 46 engagessprocket ously, and as here shown intermittently,driven through sprocket-wheel 50, loosely mounted on shaft 12. Power isapplied to said sprocket-wheel from shaft 17, on which is mounted abeveled gear 51, which meshes with a beveled gear 52 keyed to shaft 53,which has bearings in suitable standards 54 and 55. mounted anadjustable crank member 56, which is connected to Que end of a pitman57, the other end of said pitman being sethe other arm 60 of said leverbeing provided with a pawl 61, which'is held in en-v gagement with aratchet wheel 62, by means of a spring 63. This ratchet wheel 62 isloosely mounted on a shaft 64, which is prevented from rotating inbearings 65 by a key 66. Secured to said ratchet wheel by pins 67 and 68(Fig.2), and also logsely mounted on shaft 64,-is a gear 69 and a camstop 70, sleeves 71 and 72 maintaining said parts in their properposition. The gear 69v 1 meshes with a pinion 73 loose on shaft 12,-

said pinion. being. connected to sprocket wheel. 50 bymeans of pins74,and being held in. place on shaft 12 by a'collar 75.

As here shown, the cam 'stop is pro-.

vided with three elevations and three-depressions (see Fig. l), and aroller 76 engages the depressions in said stop to prevent the conveyerchain 46' and the pins 47 carried thereby from advancing too far uponeach forward movement of the same.

The'roller 76 is mounted on the free end of' an arm 77 ,which is pivotedto a standard On the end of said shaft 53 is- "end of said shaft 84 anbeveled gear 88, keyed to the lower end of direction, it will rotate.the ratchet wheel 62, and, through gear 69 and pinion 73, drivesprocket-wheel 50-, which causes conveyer chain 46 to advance alongthesaddle,

the extent of movement of the chain upon each rotation of the crank 56being suflicient to advance the signatures deposited by one set ofsignature-opening means under the next set of signature-opening means,and to insure that the pins 47 will not be in a position wheresignatures can be deposited on the points thereof.

The conveyer 46 moves the signatures alongth'e saddle to the stitchingmechanism, where the signatures are received byother conveying means,which move them along the, saddle past the stitching mechanism to thedelivery, where the stitched books or pamphlets are automaticallyremoved from the saddle and delivered from the machine, Referringparticularly to Figs. 1, 4 and 5, 80 and 81 indicate two wire stitchersof any suitable or well-known construction, which act, to stitch orstaple the groups of signatures while they are supported by the saddle21." As here shown, continuously driven means are provided forconveying. the

a beveled gear 83 keyed to one end of a shaft 84, having hearings instandards 85 and 86, a beveled gear 87 being moiill nted on'the othermeshing with a shaft 89 having bearings in a standard 90. -On the u perend of said shaft 89 is secured a beveled gear 91 which meshes with abeveled "gear 92, keyed to a stub shaft 93, car-v ried by an arm 94,said beveled gear 92 meshing with-a beveled gear 95 secured on the endofa shaft 96 mounted in suitable brackets secured to the under side of oneface of the saddle 21. This shaft is provided with two pulleys 97 and9.8, an endless belt 99 passing around the former, and an endless belt.100 passing around the latter..

These belts pass around two idler pulleys carried by a shaft 101 (Fig.4), said shaft being arranged at thatend of the conveying means wherethe group of signatures is first engaged.

On haft 96 is keyed a gear 102, whichmeshes with a gear 103 secured toash'aft 104, on-whicharejniounted driving pulleys 105 and 106, endlessbelts 107 and 108 passing around said pulleys and around idler rollers109 and 110 carried by a shaft 111,)

which shaft is arranged in a vertical plane above shaft 101. The endsofsaid shaft 111 have bearings in blocks 112 carried by casings 113, andsaid blocks are pressed downwardly by springs 114. The ends of shaftv21, so that thebelts 107 and 108 may be maintained at the desiredtension.

Identical driving mechanism is provided I I in association with theother face of saddle 21, a beveled gear 116 mounted on the end of shaft96 meshing with a beveledgear 117 mounted on the upper end of a shaft118,

which carries driving pulleys around which pass endless belts'119 and120, similar in all respects to endless belts 99 and 100. Endless belts121 and 122 correspond to endless .belts 107 and 108.

Only two stitchers 80 and 81 have been hereinillustrated, but it will beunderstood that any desired number may be employed.

vThe stitchers are operated in any suitable or well-known manner, ashere shown power being derived from countershaft 123, which is drivenfrom shaft 12 through gear 124 and pinion 125. A sprocket wheel 126 isengaged by a sprocket-chain 127, which meshes with sprocket-Wheelscarried by the main shafts of the stitchers.

As soon as each group of signatures is engaged by the endless belts orconveyors heretofore described, it would be rapidly conveyed past thestitchers, unless means were provided for stopping the same while thestaples were being applied. Any suitable j means to this end may beemployed. Preferably, however, there are provided between the twostitchers two vertically movable rollers 128 and 129, which engage thefold of the outer signature. Roller 128 is mounted on the end of arm130, and roller 129 on the end of arm 131, which arms are keyed by meansof collars 132 and 133 to a rod 134 having bearings in standards 135 and.136. A cam 137 gmounted on-. shaft 15 engages a roller-138 mounted onthe lower end of a fork 139, the upper end, of this fork having a pinand slot connection with an arm 140 keyed to rod 134. Fork 139 hasconnected thereto one end of a spring 141, the other end of which springis connected to the frame of the machine. When roller 138 is inengagement with the cut-away portion of cam 137, rollers 128 and 129 areout of engagement with the book or pamphlet, but when roller 138 is inengagement with .the

' of v the same.

unbroken surface of cam 137, rollers 128 and 129 engage the signatures.

In order to insure that all of the groups of signatures willbe stoppedat vthe same place, so that the staples or stitches will be uniformlyapplied, I have provided suitable means which are movable into and outof the path ofthe groups of signatures as they are the end of which isforked orbifurcated, so

that one bifurcation 143 engages one face of the saddle 21, and theother bifurcation 144 engages the other face of the saddle. Preferably,this arm 142 is connected to a projection 145 connected to arm 130,andthe forks 143 and 144 are held in yielding en gagement with the apexof the sadd e by means of a coiled spring 146 carried by a pin 147 thatsecures the arm 142 to the projection 145. The connection between thesetwo parts is preferably a pin and slot connection, so that the arm 142can be adjusted longitudinally of the saddle 21. The forked extremitiesof-arm 142 are adapted to engage the apex of the saddle momentarilybefore the rollers 128 and 129 engage the group of signatures, and thismechanism accordingly stops the various groups of signatures always inthe same place, and insures the accurate and uniform stitching orstapling After the books or pamphlets have been 5 stitched, they areconveyed along the saddle 21 by the several endless conveyors until theyreach the delivery, which is of any suitable or well-known type, andwhich I have herein indicated generally by the reference numeral 148. Itmay be stated that I'prefer a form of delivery employing a verticallyreciprocating member 149, which engages thebooks or pamphlets through anopening in '.the saddle 21, and elevates theminto engagement with-thedelivery mechanism 148. While, for the purpose. of clearness, oneembodlment of the inventive idea has been herein described andillustratedin detail, it A is apparent that the invention is notrestricted to the particular structural emb'odiment which is illustratedand described, but that it is susceptible of embodiments conforming tothe definition of the invention given in the'claims which follow; and itis particularly pointed out that,-instea d of using continuousconvey'ers to progress the groups of signatures past the stitchers, I

may employ anyother suitable mechanism for this purpose, suchas thatdescribed and.

claimed in my application Serial No. 745,973, filed Feb. 3d, 1913. i

What I claim is: 7

1. In a book-making machine, the-combination of an inverted V-shapedsaddle on which open signatures aresupported to be operated on bystitching mechanism, a belt of each face of the saddle,

mounted on the under side of each .face of the saddle, a belt mounted onthe upper side and gearing conbelts so arranged that they are allpositively driven to feed the signatures past said stitching mechanism.

2. In a book-making machine, the comnections between said I bination-ofan inverted V-shaped saddle on the upper side of which open signaturesare supported tobe operated on by'stitching mechanism, a pair of beltsmounted on the under side of each face of the saddle, a pair of beltsmounted on each face of the saddle, and gearing connections between saidbelts so arranged that they are all positively driven to feed thesignatures past said stitching mechanism.

3. In a book-making machine, the combination of an inverted V-shapedsaddle on which open signatures are supportedto be 0 erated on bystitching mechanism, a pair of belts mounted on the under side of eachface of the saddle, a pair of belts mounted on the upper side of eachface of the saddle, the belts on the upper faces of said saddle being 0posite those on the under faces, and means or feeding sig'na 'ures tosaid belts.

4. In a book-makm machine, the combination of an inverte V-shaped saddleon which open-signatures are supported to be operated on bystitchingmechanism, a shaft mounted on each'side of each face of saidsaddle on each'side of said stitching mechanism, a belt passing aroundeach shaft, and gearing connections between the shafts on one side ofsaidstitching mechanism whereby the belts are positively driven to feedthe signatures ast said stitching mechanism, and means feedingsignatures to said belts.

5. In a book-making machine, the combination of an inverted V- hapedsaddle on which open signatures are supported to be operated on bystitching mechanism, a shaft mounted on each side of each each side ofsaid stitching mechanism, a pair face of said saddle on of belts passingaround each shaft, and gearing connectlons between the shafts on one.

side of said stitchingmechanism whereby the belts are positively driven.to feed the signatures past said stitching mechanism, and means feedingsignatures to said belts. In testimony whereof I have signed thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' EDWARD R. KAST.

Witnesses:

I JOHN W. Hswns, M. E. Wmmnnn.

